


October 5th

by SugdenLovesDingle



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: 5+1, Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Husbands, M/M, mentions of Robert in prison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 13:00:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20908064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugdenLovesDingle/pseuds/SugdenLovesDingle
Summary: 5 times Robert and Aaron didn't get to celebrate their anniversary + 1 time they did





	October 5th

**Author's Note:**

> written for the [robron anniversary exchange](https://robronanniversarycelebration.tumblr.com/) on tumblr

**October 5th 2019**

It’s their anniversary and it should be as happy as the day a year ago, but it’s not. No matter how much they both try.

They got dressed up, Robert booked them a table in a fancy restaurant, and even a room in the same hotel they stayed at for their honeymoon last year.

Sure it was a nice evening, the food was great, and the hotel room even better than Aaron remembered it being. They’d put the massive bed and huge bath to good use and enjoyed themselves thoroughly until happily falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Only it was at night, with nothing else to occupy their minds, that the thoughts of prison and being separated for god knows how long would come creeping in. And, like many nights before, Aaron woke up in the middle of the night after a nightmare (usually involving Robert dying some kind of horrific and violent death at the hands of Jason in prison) to find Robert’s side of the bed empty and cold, and the man himself staring out the window, deep in thought.

“Hey.” Aaron said softly as he walked up to Robert and put a hand on his shoulder. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Hmm.” Robert hummed and covered Aaron’s hand with his own, giving it a squeeze. “Can’t seem to switch my brain off tonight.”

“Yeah. I know the problem.” Aaron sighed. He’d given up on trying to reassure Robert everything would be ok and they’d all be alright in the end, because at this point, neither of them really believed it.

“I was thinking about giving Rebecca a call in the morning. I still haven’t told her.” Robert said after a few minutes.

“Did you want to tell her over the phone?”

“No. I thought we could drive up there and I’d ask her for a word while you keep Seb entertained… or maybe we should go for coffee and tell her somewhere public so she won’t yell at me…”

“Do you really think being in public would stop her from doing that if she wanted to?”

“I suppose not…” Robert ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve made such a mess of things. How am I supposed to tell her that her son’s father is going to prison for life?”

“You’re not going to get life.” Aaron said, adamant. “Your solicitor said you’d get a reduced sentence if you pleaded guilty, didn’t he?”

Robert shrugged.

“He said it would probably be at least five years. It could be longer. Knowing my luck, it probably will be.”

“Don’t think like that.”

“How can I not?” Robert said, probably a little too loud for the time of night. “I keep hoping it will only be five years and I’ll be home in three… but then it hits me I could still go to prison for a long time. That I won’t get to see Seb grow up. That I won’t even be around for his second birthday. That I’ll probably never meet your little brother or sister, or my nephew… I’ve ruined everything. As usual.”

Aaron could tell he was fighting back the tears.

“You haven’t ruined anything. You did what you did to protect your sister. I would’ve done the same for Liv. Hell I probably would’ve done the same for Vic if I’d been there.”

“But you weren’t there. And you didn’t do it. I did. I did it… and now I’m going away for possibly the rest of my life. I have everything I’ve ever wanted and I’ve thrown it all away.”

“You haven’t. You have me. You’ll always have me.”

“Will I? What if I get 10 years? Or 20?”

“Then I’ll wait. For as long as I have to.”

“I can’t ask you to put your life on hold for me.”

“You’re not.”

“But you still will.”

“Yeah.” Aaron said and wrapped his arms around Robert’s waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. “Come back to bed. You’re freezing.”

Robert sighed and let Aaron guide him back to bed.

“Suppose I better enjoy this while I still can…” he said, snuggling up to Aaron.

“What if you didn’t have to?”

“What?”

“What if you didn’t have to lose this? Us?”

“What are you talking about? Are you still thinking about getting locked up with me?”

“No.” Aaron said, sitting up in bed. “What if… What if we run?”

“We what? Run? Run where?”

“I don’t know. France? Spain? China for all I care.”

“But… how? They’ll look for us. For me. And there’s Liv… and Seb…”

“Liv will be fine. She’ll be 18 in a few months, she has the entire family looking out for her, and Sandra in Dublin. We’ll put the house in her name and the scrapyard… or I could sell to Kim and -”

“No. No I can’t let you do that.” Robert interrupted. “If we run, we can never come back. You’ll never see your mum or Liv again. We’ll never see Seb again…”

“I know. It’ll be hard… but it’ll be worth it. At least we’ll be together.”

“Aaron… I can’t -”

“Do you think I want to spend years without you? No. We run, we can stay together. We’ll settle somewhere, we’ll make it work.”

“I… You’re mad… But… Ok… Ok let’s do it. We say our goodbyes and we go.”

**October 5th 2020**

“You can’t bring that in with you. Either eat it now or throw it away.”

“It’s a cupcake.”

“That’s what you say. For all I know it has drugs in it. Or a weapon.”

“A weapon?! What kind of weapon would I be able to hide in a cupcake?”

“You’d be surprised. People get creative with these things.”

“It’s just a chocolate cupcake! The only thing in it is chocolate chips! Don’t you screen these things? Like at the airport?”

“Eat it or bin it. Those are your options. Choose now.”

“Aaron just do what he says.” Liv pleaded. “You take half and give me half.”

“Yeah mate, listen to your girlfriend.”

Aaron glared at the guard.

“Girlfriend? She’s my sister.”

The man shrugged.

“I’d still listen to her if I was you.”

Liv rolled her eyes, yanked the little box out of Aaron’s hands and shoved it at the guard.

“There. Decision made. Can you let us through now?”

“Fine. Sign in here, and you can leave your personal belongings - ”

“Yeah, we know. We’ve been here before.” Liv interrupted.

“Alright. Well… Off you go then.” The guard said and Liv dragged a still annoyed Aaron with her through the now opened gate to the visitation area.

Robert was sitting at a table, chewing on his lip and anxiously glancing between the clock on the wall and the gate. A smile spread on his face when he noticed first Liv and then Aaron.

“Hi Rob.” Liv said, trying to sound as normal as possible when she reached his table and stepped aside to let Aaron hug him.

“No contact Sugden, you know the rules. Do I really have to remind you every week?” Another guard said as he walked over to them. He sounded tired and not interested in actually pulling the two men apart, like some of the others had done on previous visits.

Robert quickly stole a kiss before letting Aaron go and both of them sitting down on opposite sides of the table.

“Sugden, please stick to the rules for a change, yeah? It’s my last shift until I have two whole weeks off and I’d like to get through it with minimal drama.”

“Alright, noted.” Robert said and turned to Aaron and Liv. “So how is everything at home?”

“It’s fine.” Aaron shrugged. “How are you holding up? You look tired.”

“I’m fine. Somehow they found out what I did… and well… they’re not very keen on rapists around here either. One guy called me a hero… but they leave me alone mostly.”

Aaron nodded.

“Good. That’s good. Just keep your head down and you’ll be home before you know it.”

“We told Seb we were going to see daddy, he wanted to come with.” Liv told Robert.

“No. Don’t bring him here. I don’t want him to see me like this.”

“I know, I know. He drew you this though.” She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and put it on the table.

_To daddy Robert, love Seb_ was written on it above what Robert assumed were stick figure portraits of their family.

“He wrote his own name on it. April’s been teaching him.” Aaron told him.

“April?” Robert asked, amused.

“Yeah she comes over with Marlon and plays with Seb while Aaron attempts to not burn down the kitchen.” Liv teased. “Marlon’s giving him cooking lessons.”

“Liv!”

“He’s getting better. He even made cupcakes the other day. They were actually fit for human consumption.”

“Really? You bake? Who are you and what have you done with the real Aaron Dingle?”

Aaron laughed and felt his cheeks heat up.

“I brought you one. A cupcake. But they wouldn’t let me bring it in. They were afraid I hid drugs in it or something.”

Robert smiled.

“Well I guess I’ll have something to look forward to for when I get home then.”

**October 5th 2021**

“If you’re not on the list, I can’t let you through.”

“Yes, you’ve said that. But I told you, there must be a mistake. Today is our… it’s a special day alright? Can you just check again? Maybe someone misspelled my name or something... or maybe they put it on the wrong list.”

“Alright. Fine. Spell it for me?”

“A-A-R-O-N D-I-N-G-L-E or Sugden – Dingle maybe.”

“Nope. Nobody on here by that name. I have a Victoria Sugden and a Sam Dingle but no Aaron.”

“Sam?! Sam is on the list? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Look, son, if an inmate doesn’t want to see you, I can’t make them. Your best bet is to go home and write to them or wait for them to contact you.”

“But I saw him last week and everything was fine. Why wouldn’t he want to see me now?”

“I don’t know, but I do know you’re not getting through if your name isn’t on the list.”

Aaron swore under his breath.

“Fine. Can you at least get a message to him? A note?”

“All correspondence has to go through the official channels.”

“If I just write a note here and now and give it to you, you can see what’s in it and that there are no hidden messages and you can just give it to him, can’t you?” Aaron pleaded. “Please?”

The guard sighed.

“Alright. Write it and I’ll see what I can do.”

\---

“Sugden, next time you update your visitors list, let the home front know, yeah? I’m not doing this every week.” A guard said as he walked into Robert’s cell and dropped a note on the desk.

“What’s this?”

“Read it. And then do something about it because if he’s back next week kicking up a fuss again, I’m putting in a transfer request for you to the Isle of Man so you and him will be someone else’s problem.”

Robert frowned but climbed down from his bunk and folded open the note, recognising the handwriting immediately.

Dear Robert,   
I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to work. I’m not giving up on you and I’m not moving on. You and me together, messed up forever remember? I love you and I miss you. Please put me back on your list. I’ll be back next week.   
Love, Aaron.   
P.S. Happy anniversary  
  
  
** October <strike>5th</strike> 6th 2022**

“One day. Just… Seriously? They couldn’t make an exception? It’s one day.”

“I get that you’re disappointed but he’s incredibly lucky to be getting out this early in the first place.”

“I know.” Aaron sighed and stopped pacing the car park for a second. “But it would’ve been nice to have him back for our wedding anniversary. Yesterday.”

“I really did everything I could. I called in every favour… but it’s a matter of days. Like I explained, today marks the absolute minimum of days he’d have had to serve with his original sentence.”

“We understand.” Liv said quickly. “And we all appreciate everything you’ve done for Robert and for us.”

Aaron nodded.

“Yeah, absolutely. Sorry if it doesn’t seem like it.”

Robert’s solicitor was nothing short of a miracle worker and they all knew it, but as the day of Robert’s release and their wedding anniversary had come closer, Aaron had hoped they’d be able to finally celebrate it together. Properly.

But then they heard he wouldn’t be released until the 6th.

“It’s alright. I understand.” He gave them a friendly smile. “I’ve heard worse over the years I’ve been doing this job.”

“Daddy.” Seb whined from the car and Aaron rushed over to him. “I’m hungry. I want to go home.”

“I know mate. We’ll go home soon. Daddy Robert is coming home today remember? I told you. We’re going to meet him here and then he’s coming home with us.” Aaron said, unbuckling Seb from his car seat and lifting him from the car.

“And then he’s never leaving again. Ever.” Liv added.

“He’s going to read you lots of stories before bed and maybe he’ll come to the pool with us on Sunday. That would be nice wouldn’t it?”

Seb nodded.

“But I’m hungry daddy.”

“Why didn’t you eat your toast before we left then?”

“You didn’t eat your toast either.” The boy pointed out.

“I know. I wasn’t hungry. But that doesn’t mean you can’t eat.” Aaron said, cursing himself for not forcing a slice of toast down that morning, knowing Seb was at an age where he liked to copy everything his dad did… or didn’t do.

“I think I have a mars bar in here…” Liv said, digging through her bag.

“He can’t have a mars bar for breakfast Liv.”

“Do you have a better idea then?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. We’ll stop somewhere on the way home. Get some sandwiches. Some fruit. He needs vitamins instead of chocolate for breakfast.” Aaron argued. He was too wound up to think clearly.

“I don’t know, I’ve always been partial to having chocolate for breakfast. Especially on Easter.”

Aaron turned around and came face to face with a smiling Robert.

“Rob.” He said and threw his arms around the other man, grabbing two fistfuls of the back of his jacket and squeezing him tightly.

“I’ve missed you so much.” Robert mumbled and buried his face in the crook of Aaron’s neck, breathing him in.

“I’ve missed you too.” Aaron replied, unable to stop the tears from streaming down his face. “So, so much.”

They stood like that for several minutes before pulling back slightly to share their first proper kiss in much too long.

“Daddy, are you sad?” Seb asked when he saw his dad wipe the tears from his face.

“No mate, I’m really happy. Your dad is back with us, where he belongs.”

Robert smiled and walked over to where Seb was standing with Liv. He hugged her and kissed the top of her head before squatting down in front of Seb.

“Hi. Do you know who I am?” He asked the boy who nodded.

“You’re daddy Robert.”

“Yeah that’s right. I’m sorry I haven’t been around the past few years, but from now on I’m going to be the best dad ever for you, ok? I promise.”

Seb nodded again and let Robert pick him up. He looked a bit unsure, he knew who Robert was, he’d seen him in pictures and heard about him in stories but still didn’t really know him.

“Robert… sorry to interrupt…” Robert’s solicitor started “I have an appointment in there in 10 minutes and I have to go through security…”

“Right. Of course. Thank you for everything.” Robert said, moving Seb to his left side so he could shake the man’s hand.

“I’m glad everything worked out in the end.” He handed Robert a card. “My new office. Meet me there Friday at 10 and we’ll go over the conditions of your release and I’ll introduce you to your probation officer.”

“Alright. I’ll see you Friday. And thanks again. You really are a miracle worker.”

The man gave him a smile and a nod, before waving to Aaron and Liv and turning around to walk into the prison to meet his next client.

“Are you ready to go home mister Sugden-Dingle?” Aaron asked, picking Robert’s bag up from the ground.

“Yeah. More than ready.”

**October 4th &5th 2023**

“Here. Bad hospital coffee.” Robert said, handing Aaron a Styrofoam cup before sitting down next to him. “Any news?”

“No.” Aaron shook his head. “They’re still working on her I guess. On both of them.” He sighed. “How was everything at home?”

Robert shrugged.

“Fine. Seb and Isaac are helping Moira on the farm. She let them feed the sheep. Cain said he’s having a blast.”

“Good.” Aaron said and leaned his head on Robert’s shoulder. Exhaustion starting to kick in.

“Come on, drink your coffee, we’ll go find a nurse to update us when you’re done.”

Aaron sat up a little and sipped his coffee, grimacing at the taste.

“Every time I see someone walking down the corridor I think it’s someone coming to tell us our baby died.” He admitted a few minutes later.

“Don’t think like that. The doctor said she was confident they would be able to stop the bleed and everything would be fine.”

“Then why is it taking so long? It’s been hours.”

“I don’t know. But I’m planning on finding out.” Robert said determined and stood up, ready to grab the first medical professional he saw and get some information out of them.

It turned out he didn’t have to look very far because at that same moment one of the doctors from earlier came through the double doors.

“Mister and Mister Sugden-Dingle?”

“Yes. How are they? Is everything ok?”

“Why don’t we go to a family room where we can talk in peace.” The doctor suggested.

“Is she dead?” Aaron asked. “I don’t need you to put me in some little room to tell me our baby died.”

“No, no, nobody died. I promise.” The doctor said quickly. “I just wanted to sit down with you to talk through everything that happened.”

“Can’t you just tell us here?” Robert pushed. “We’ve been waiting here for hours.”

“Alright. Well, the good news is mum and baby are both stable.”

“Why do I sense a but?”

“But… we’ve had to deliver the baby. And at 25 weeks that’s… less than ideal.”

“But she’s stable? You said she’s stable.” Aaron asked.

The doctor nodded.

“Yes, the machines are keeping her stable for now.”

“Wait. Machines? What machines?”

“She’s being transferred to the NICU, the Neonatal, Intensive Care Unit, where she’ll have to stay for a while. Usually until the original due date. It depends how quickly she develops.”

“Right, Right.” Robert started, trying to get his thoughts together.

“They’re getting her settled in on the NICU, I’ll get someone to come get you when they’re done so you can meet your daughter.” The doctor said and turned to leave, but Aaron stopped her.

“Wait.. doctor… can I ask you something… Do babies this small… do they usually make it?” he asked carefully, not sure he wanted to hear the answer. “Be honest.”

“There is about a 50/50 chance right now. But we’re doing everything in our power to improve those odds. She’s in good hands, I promise.”

The doctor left and the two of them sat back down again.

“There’s a fifty percent chance she won’t make it.” Aaron said, staring into space.

“Yeah and a fifty percent chance she will.” Robert reminded him. “Let’s focus on that.”

It was another half hour before someone came to collect them and take them to see their daughter. The nurse made them both put on a gown and disinfect their hands thoroughly before entering the ward.

“It looks scarier than it is, trust me. It’s just standard procedure.” He said. “And try not to look at all the tubes and wires too much. They’re all there to help her, and us.”

The two men nodded and followed the nurse who lead them to an incubator with a tiny baby inside.

“Here she is, the lady of the hour. The iv is to give her fluids and meds, the tube in her nose is to help her breathe, and this keeps track of her heart rate.” He explained.

“She’s so tiny…” Robert said looking at the little girl. Their little girl, so precious but so fragile. He blindly reached out for Aaron who took his hand right away.

“I can’t believe she’s here.”

“Can we… can we hold her?”

“I’m afraid not. She’s not quite strong enough for that yet… but you can touch her. You can open the incubator here and put your hand through it.” The nurse said and showed them how to navigate the equipment.

“Are you sure she’s alright like this?” Aaron asked, carefully stroking the girl’s head.

“Absolutely. Pull up a chair and sit with her as long as you like. I’ll leave you three to get to know each other now, I’ll be back later to check how you’re getting on.”

They sat with the girl for a while, switching between staring at her and each other. Robert holding her foot and Aaron letting her hold onto his little finger.

“Hey… it’s after midnight.” Robert said some time later after glancing at his watch. “Happy anniversary.”

**October 5th 2028**

“Good morning husband.” Robert said as he leaned over Aaron to wake him up with a kiss. “Happy 10 year anniversary.”

“Happy 10 year anniversary.” Aaron replied. “What time is it?”

“About 7. I turned the alarm off to wake you up before the kids got up and the madness started again.”

Aaron gave him a sleepy smile.

“Yeah we’re definitely not having a party at home next year for Keira’s birthday.”

“You said the same thing for Seb’s birthday last year.” Robert grinned. “And he’s having a party at home too.”

“Yeah, well… he’s older isn’t he? A bunch of 11 year olds is easier to deal with than 5 year olds.”

Robert laughed.

“I thought I was supposed to be the old man in this marriage?” He teased.

“Shut up. You were complaining about your back hurting when you carried Keira up to bed last night.” Aaron reminded him.

“Yeah… she’s not the tiny baby anymore she was when she was born.” Robert said and snuggled up to Aaron, both men getting lost in thoughts of their daughter defying the odds and growing into a happy, and most of all healthy, little girl.

“Let’s sack off work for the day.” Aaron suggested after a few minutes. “Stay in bed all day.”

“Tempting.” Robert groaned. “But I have a meeting and the kids have school. And didn’t you have a big delivery coming in?”

“The boys can deal with that. Charity’s been nagging me to give Noah more responsibility, this is me doing that.”

“I really have to go to this meeting though. It’s a big client and we could use the money.”

Aaron sighed.

“I know. And it’s Keira’s last day at nursery, she’ll be gutted if she misses that.”

“Yeah.” Robert agreed. “We should probably get up and get them ready… But tonight, when the kids are in bed… you’re mine.”

“Oh really now mister Sugden-Dingle, what did you have in mind?”

“Oh I don’t know. You, me, some pasta and a bottle of wine… a little Netflix and chill.” Robert said and they both laughed.

“You’re terrible.”

“You love it.”

“Suppose I do yeah.” Aaron grinned and pulled Robert in for a kiss. Morning breath be damned.

Just as they were about to get out of bed, first Aaron’s and then Robert’s phone beeped with a message.

“It’s Jimmy.” Robert said, frowning at the screen. “He’s already on his way to Manchester for that meeting… the meeting I was supposed to go to…”

“Really? Cain’s just texted me that he’s got a job on in Hotten and that he’s taking Isaac to school and Seb can ride with them. Looks like we’ll get that lie in after all.” Aaron said and turned his attention back to his phone when it beeped again. “And Noah and Ellis are at the yard waiting for the delivery.”

Robert frowned.

“Something’s going on here. Our family and friends are never this helpful.”

“Yeah it’s weird… Do you smell coffee?”

“Is that your way of making me get up to make you some?”

“No. I smell coffee. Like someone is making some.” Aaron said, throwing the covers off of himself and getting out of bed. “Liv isn’t home… and Seb knows better than to try make coffee without us around.”

They rushed downstairs, only to be met with not only fresh coffee but also a full breakfast table with toast, croissants, fruit, and even a bottle of champagne in a cooler.

“Happy birthday daddies!” Keira yelled when she saw her parents coming down the stairs and Robert made a mental note to talk to her about using inside voices – again.

“It’s not their birthday, silly, it’s their anniversary. From when they got married.” Liv explained laughingly.

“What’s all this?” Aaron asked, looking around the kitchen.

“It’s a surprise. For you.” Seb told him. “Do you like it?”

“Yeah, yes, yes, it’s great. Come here.” He pulled the boy close and kissed the top of his head. “When did you do this?”

“This morning. We had help though.”

“Was this your idea?” Robert asked Liv.

“Parts of it.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. “You two just deserved something nice on your anniversary.”

Keira walked up to Robert and grabbed his hand to lead him to the table.

“You need to eat daddy.” She decided. “You too daddy.” She said to Aaron who sat down next to Robert. They’d tried to get her to call one of them papa for the longest time but she refused. They were both daddy and that was that.

“What about you two eh? Shouldn’t you have some breakfast too?”

“Already taken care of.” Liv told them. “We had breakfast with April and Marlon. It’s all kind of a family effort.”

“Wait… Cain giving you a lift to school is part of the plan too?” Aaron asked Seb who just grinned and nodded.

“And Jimmy going to your meeting, and Noah and Ellis dealing with the delivery at the scrapyard.” Liv added. “And Chas and I are taking this little lady to school. So you’re free to be as disgustingly loved up as you want today, without bothering the rest of us.” She joked.

The next half hour was the usual madness that was breakfast in the mill. With Keira too busy chatting about her plans for the day to even entertain the thought of taking a bite of the piece of toast Aaron had given her, and Seb joking and teasing his dads with his aunt Liv.

The sound of a car horn coming from outside was Seb’s sign to go, and Liv took the opportunity to scoop Keira up to go meet Chas for their school run.

“Alone at last.” Robert said when the front door closed and the house was quiet again.

“And a full day ahead of us without responsibilities.” Aaron said and grabbed the bottle of champagne from the cooler and poured them both a glass. “Here’s to the next ten years.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Robert said and a devilish grin appeared on his face. “How about we take this bottle and celebrate properly… upstairs.”


End file.
